


A Bonding of Souls

by SkadiLothbrok



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Near Death, Slow Build, Violence, akwardness, bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 7,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23899978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkadiLothbrok/pseuds/SkadiLothbrok
Summary: Geralt makes a life changing choice when you are injured on the road.Was it the right call to make? Will you understand?
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Reader, geralt/ reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 87





	1. No Regrets

You'd been travelling with Geralt and Jaskier for a few months now after meeting them during a hunt.

After the griffin had killed your family you had no ties to your home and asked if you could leave with them.

Geralt had been reluctant but Jaskier had helped you convince him.

You had already been a capable tracker and hunter and you found yourself improving more and more now.

"I could kick your ass any day" you playfully pushed Jaskier as you walked through the forest.

"You wouldn't want to" he sassed back "it is too nice an ass to kick".

Laughing at your idiot friend you shook your head.

"Besides, I am much more fun a travel companion than Geralt" he joked.

"I think you mean more irritating" Geralt deadpanned, making you laugh.

"Irritating!" Jaskier pouted before speeding up to walk beside Geralt and starting to argue playfully.

You smiled as you watched the two of them in amusement.

Before you could catch up to join the conversation though you were knocked to the ground by something from above.

"Y/n" you heard Geralt call your name as he unsheathed his sword.

The weight momentarily disappeared from your back and you were able to roll out of the way just as a large clawed hand swiped where your head had just been.

You weren't quite so lucky in dodging the other clawed hand though as it tore through your torso, pulling a scream from your lips.

Moments after, Geralt had the beast off you and engaged in fighting it whilst you pressed down on your bleeding wound.

"Shit shit shit" Jaskier came to your side with wide eyes, clearly unsure what to do.

The sounds of the beast and Geralt reached your ears which had started ringing.

Letting your head fall back you stared up at the sky above you thinking that this was it for you.

You're gonna be okay, we'll get you fixed" Jaskier spoke to you but his voice lacked conviction.

Soon enough Geralt had slain the beast and was by your side, quickly applying pressure to your wound.

A coughing fit tore up your lungs and you felt blood trickling from the side of your mouth.

In that moment you realised this was certainly it for you.

"S'okay" you managed to mumble out "don't feel bad" another bout of coughing tore through your chest.

"Just hang on, we're gonna get you sorted out" Jaskier told you with watery eyes.

As you vision began to blur around the edges you felt yourself being lifted from the ground.

"I've got you" Geralt's voice reached your ears and you felt the movement of him walking.

"No regrets" you mumbled with your eyes closed.

"What?" he asked.

"Best f-few months of m-my life" you managed to get out before your brain went blank.


	2. Heartbeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geralt gets you to the nearest village and finds a mage

Geralt heard your heart slowing dramatically and it had almost completely stopped by the time they'd reached the closest village.

"We need a healer" Jaskier called out to the surprised looking locals.

"Please!" Jaskier pleaded.

The villagers looked among themselves for a moment before an elderly woman stepped forward "there's a mage who works from the local inn" she spoke and pointed in the general direction of said inn.

Geralt wasted no time in rushing in that direction with you in his arms.

Jaskier mumbled a quick thank you before hurrying after him.

They burst through the doors of the inn and about a dozen faces turned towards them.

"Where's the mage?" Geralt asked.

Silence was all that followed before a man ventured out of a side room.

Figuring that this must be the mage, Geralt headed over "help her... please".

The man frowned slightly before gesturing for them to follow him into the room.

"Lay her down there" he pointed to a table in the centre of the room.

Geralt gently lay you down before listening for your heartbeat.

He felt his breath hitch when he didn't hear it "her heart's stopped".

The mage came to look over your body, hovering his hands over you with closed eyes.

He took a deep breath before looking up at Geralt "I'm sorry but she's-"

"No" Geralt growled out "you do something. Anything".

Jaskier covered his mouth with his hands and sunk down the wall as he realised what the mage was saying.

"I-" the mage started but stopped upon seeing the look in Geralts eyes.

He bit his lip in thought for a moment before speaking again "there is something I could do".

"Then do it" Geralt snapped.

"There will be consequences" he warned.

"I don't care" Geralt replied.

"I would need to bond her life to another" the mage rose his eyebrow.

Geralt simply looked at him expectantly.

"Okay" the mage hurried to grab what he needed before starting the spell.

He dipped his finger in some sort of liquid before tracing a symbol onto your forehead.

He then turned to Geralt who glanced at your lifeless body before allowing the mage to do the same to him.

The chanting started as candles around the room flared brightly.

Jaskier could only watch with his mouth agape at what was happening.

Geralt felt a strange sensation in his head and swayed slightly before grabbing onto the table for support.

The symbol on your forehead glowed a bright blue colour before eventually fading away.

"It is done" the mage stated before stepping back from the table.

Turning to watch you once more, Geralt listened for a heartbeat and sighed in relief when he heard it.

But when it took longer than normal for the next beat he furrowed his brow.

Too slow for a human heart, it sounded like...

His own.

\--

After paying the mage good coin for his services and renting a room for the night, Geralt carried your body upstairs.

Laying you down on the bed before strolling over to the window and staring out of it.

"What did he do?" Jaskier asked "Will she be okay?"

"She's alive, that's all that matters" Geralt grumbled.

Jaskier moved to sit on the edge of the bed before taking your wrist to feel for a pulse.

Upon finding it he turned back to Geralt "her pulse...it's slow" he frowned.

Without turning around Geralt replied "it's matched to mine".

Silence filled the room before Jaskier spoke again "you'll have to tell her".

"No we don't" Geralt snapped back "we'll just say the mage healed her".

"You bonded her to you Geralt" Jaskier stood up "she deserves to know".

"No" Geralt turned back around "and you won't tell her".

The underlying warning in his voice didn't escape Jaskier's notice.

With no other choice he shook his head and moved to sit in the chair beside the bed.

A tense mood filled the room for the next half hour or so before you began to stir.

Jaskier stood to fetch you some water as Geralt came to watch you closely.

When you first opened your eyes the room seemed to spin a little before settling.

Recalling what had happened you frowned before moving to sit up.

"Careful" Geralt gently pushed you to lay back down.

"What happened?" you asked as Jaskier handed you a cup of water which you took gratefully.

"We found a mage" Geralt answered "he healed you".

"I thought I was done for" you confessed.

"Well lucky for us you're still here" Jaskier beamed at you "though that was quite a scare".

You noticed a stern look that Geralt shot Jaskier but decided not to comment.

"Get some rest" Geralt told you "we'll stay here until you're fully healed".

\--

Strangely enough, by the next morning you felt ready to go.

You'd checked the wound in the mirror and it had already started to knit back together.

The mage had clearly done a good job.

"Are you sure you're ready to go?" Jaskier asked you again as you tacked up Roach.

You rolled your eyes at him "I told you, I feel fine, the mage must've been a pro".

Geralt made his way over to the two of you after paying the innkeeper.

"Do you wanna ride Roach?" he offered.

"Oh don't tell me you're gonna start hovering over me too Geralt" you sighed.

"I'll take that offer" Jaskier chimed in.

You laughed at the glare that Geralt shot him before mounting Roach himself.

"One of these days Jaskier" you patted his shoulder with a grin "one of these days".

With that, the three of you started making your way out of the village.


	3. Headache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After you leave town, you start to feel a little rough.

You'd already spent about half the day travelling after leaving the town.

Stopping every now and then to rest your feet and have some food.

You were making your way down a valley path when a wave of dizziness overtook you.

Coming to a halt at a nearby tree, you leant against it for support and waited for your head to stop spinning.

"Y/n, are you alright?" Jaskier came to stand by you, Geralt watched carefully from where he was.

"Uh yeah" you replied and smiled back at him "just got a little dizzy for a moment that's all" you assured him.

When everything stopped spinning you moved away from the tree to walk ahead, ignoring the worried looks of your travel companions.

As you continued on, you found yourself burdened with a stinging headache that made every little sound feel like it was bouncing around your skull.

Not wanting to worry the others you kept it to yourself.

A while later the headache progressed to a stinging sensation in your eyes and a slight ringing in your ears.

"We'll make camp here" Geralt came to a stop in a small clearing amidst the trees.

Silently thanking the gods you moved to sit against one of the trees and rubbed the sides of your temple.

You closed your stinging eyes and focused on taking deep steadying breaths.

"Just think of the ballad I will be able to write about Y/n's triumphant fight with death" Jaskier spoke to nobody in particular as he sat opposite you and played idly with his lute.

"Must you" Geralt commented as he tied up Roach and went about setting up a fire.

As you sat there you tried to ignore every little sound which usually escaped your notice, grating away at your head.

"Y/n" hearing Geralt talking to you, you opened your eyes to find him looking at you expectantly.

"Huh?" you asked as you rubbed your eyes.

"I asked if you were okay, you've been quiet" he observed.

"I'm alright" you forced a smile "just tired I guess".

"Hm" he eyed you suspiciously before busying himself once more with the fire.

Knowing that he was monitoring you now, you made sure that you put up a normal facade for the rest of the evening.

Laughing and joking with Jaskier about various things and rolling your eyes at him when he started another argument with Geralt.

For a while it helped you ignore your throbbing headache but it seemed to be getting worse not better.

Soon enough it was joined by a nauseous feeling in your stomach and you felt like you were burning up.

"Y/n, your nose" Jaskier was looking you with concern.

"What?" you asked as you raised your hand to your nose, discovering the blood that was trickling from your nose.

Hastily wiping it away you tried to shrug his concern off.

"It's nothing" you lied "just a nose bleed".

But a sudden wave of some strong scent entered your nose and you couldn't stop the wince that escaped you.

In seconds, Geralt was knelt next to you, a hand on your shoulder "you're burning up".

You covered your nose with your hand as you got over the sensation.

"Geralt, what's happening to her?" you heard Jaskier ask but it sounded as though he was shouting right into your ear.

It was at that point that you felt as though somebody had just punched you right in the gut..

"Agh, shit" you complained as you doubled over.

Geralt gently rubbed your shoulder, helping to ground you better "just breathe".

Your ears were ringing louder than ever and it felt as though somebody was forcing your eyes back into your skull.

"Geralt" you moaned in pain as you gritted your teeth and closed your eyes.

"Jaskier, grab my pack" Geralt spoke as he pulled you closer to him.

Your body began to spasm and you could feel sweat trickling down the back of your neck.

You heard what you were sure were voices talking to you but you were in too much pain to understand what they were saying.

As the pain continued to get worse you pushed your palms into the side of your skull and let out a painful scream.

"Drink this" managed to reach your ears as you felt something being held up to your lips.

Without really thinking about it you allowed the liquid to trickle down your throat and quickly found yourself drifting out of consciousness.


	4. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geralt has to face the consequences of his decision.

"What was that?" Jaskier asked as he watched Geralt ease you to the ground.

"Sleeping potion" he replied as he grabbed a cloth from his pack and started to clean the blood from your face as best he could.

"I meant all the bleeding and stuff" Jaskier spoke in a panic.

Geralt didn't want to bring himself to say what he thought it was.

It would mean admitting that it was happening to you and he wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Geralt" Jaskier pushed "this is to do with what the mage did isn't it".

He was only met by silence in response, so with nothing else to do he figured he might as well get some rest, cursing the witcher under his breath.

As you slept, Geralt kept a close eye on you, monitoring every slight movement that you made.

Even as it grew dark and Jaskier went to sleep, he remained on guard.

The last time he'd seen anything like what happened to you was back at Kaer Morhen.

He sat thinking over what the mage had said about bonding your life to his own.

At the time he hadn't really thought about it, too worried about losing you to bother about the consequences.

But was it possible that in doing so he had changed your life completely.

And not necessarily for the better.

At least as time passed your body stopped shaking and the temperature started to subside.

He remained vigil by your side until the sun began to rise once more and you started to wake.

\--

The first thing you heard was birds singing in the trees.

But it wasn't like you usually heard them, it seemed so much clearer.

You then noticed the strong scent that filled your nose, it was like nothing you'd ever smelt before and you couldn't identify it.

Opening your eyes you were taken back by how clear everything was.

Even the smallest of movements seemed to catch your attention.

As you looked to your left you spotted Geralt looking at you with a shocked expression. 

"Geralt" you commented before sitting up and turning to face him "what's wrong?"

"You-" he started but stopped "I need to tell you something".

"What?" you were growing concerned by his nervous behavior before hearing a strange thumping noise "what's that noise?".

Geralt frowned before realising that you were hearing Jaskier and his heartbeats.

"When you got hurt" he started to explain "the mage couldn't heal you, your heart had stopped".

"But" you frowned "how am I here then?" you tried to focus on listening to him over the other noise.

"He bonded your life to mine" he looked to the ground, not wanting to meet your eyes.

"What?" your face contorted in confusion "what does that even mean?" you asked before your attention was drawn to Jaskier who was starting to wake.

As he sat up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched his arms he turned to face you.

But as soon as he did you watched shock spread across his face "Y/n! Your eyes, what the".

Frowning at his comment you turned back to Geralt who looked up at you sheepishly.

"They're... they're like Geralt's" Jaskier was looking between the two of you "how? why?" he fumbled over his words.

"Do you feel any different?" Geralt asked you.

"I-" you thought about the question before answering "I guess things look and sound a little clearer" you told him "and there's sounds and smells that I didn't notice before, I don't know what they are" you shrugged.

"Wait, is she?" Jaskier came over to you both now, curious more than anything else.

"Am I what?" you turned to him, wandering what he was getting at.

"A Witcher" Geralt replied.


	5. Never Be Normal Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You clear things up with Geralt

After Geralt confessed what had really happened after you'd gotten hurt you needed some time to think.

Leaving Jaskier and Geralt to clear away your little camp you strolled to a different part in the woods before laying down on the grass.

Closing your eyes you took in all the new sounds and smells around you.

It was like nothing you could've ever imagined.

You could hear water running in the distance somewhere and the sound of the leaves being stirred ever so slightly by the wind.

Even though you'd walked a fair distance away you could still hear Jaskier and Geralt back at the camp, they weren't talking to each other but you heard as their movements.

The smells were stranger still.

Some you knew and just smelt clearer now, like the sweet scent of the grass and the pine trees around you.

But then there were the strange ones that you couldn't identify.

There wasn't even anything you knew the smell of that smelt similar.

Opening your eyes once more you stared up at the trees canopy and the sky that passed by above you.

Were it not for what Geralt had done you wouldn't be here right now to see it.

Only thing you had to do now was figure out what it meant for you and your life.

What did it actually mean if you were 'a Witcher' anyway?

You already travelled with Geralt and helped as best you could with whatever monsters you encountered.

At least now you had more of an advantage right?

The only thing playing on your mind was if Geralt would treat you different now.

You weren't sure why, but Geralt seemed to have a hard time looking at you.

Maybe he regretted his decision to save you?

Hearing footsteps approaching you turned to find Jaskier making his way towards you with a smile.

You made note of one of the new scents that grew stronger as he approached, was that his scent maybe?

"So..." he drifted off as he sat himself down beside you "how do you feel?"

"A little strange I guess" you shrugged "but not like bad... just different".

He nodded at your answer before a smirk spread over his face "so tell me, am I even more stunning with your new eyes?"

You laughed at him, happy that he was lightening the mood.

"Actually, I think one of your eyes is slightly larger than the other" you joked.

His eyes went wide as he moved his hands over his face, you watched him in amusement.

"Who knows, your singing may even sound different" you grinned "maybe that's why Geralt doesn't like it".

"You take that back" he demanded before grabbing a stick from the ground and throwing it at you.

It surprised both of you when you managed to catch it out of reflex alone.

"So I guess I'm the slow one now" Jaskier scoffed before standing up.

"You always were" you stuck your tongue out at him before you too stood up.

As you walked back to the camp the other scent from before grew stronger.

Geralt stood waiting for you both, but as you appeared he lowered his eyes to the ground.

Trying to ignore it you put on a smile "I think it's finally time that Jaskier gets to ride Roach".

Geralt looked up at Jaskier and looked as though he was about to protest before you cut him off.

"Besides, I think we need to talk" you finally managed to get him to look at you.

He gave a small nod before turning to Jaskier "don't get used to this".

Jaskier grinned from ear to ear as he moved to get onto Roach "this is my best victory yet" he said before he urged her on. 

You rolled your eyes at him before turning to Geralt.

"So uh, how are you feeling?" he asked you as you both started to walk after Jaskier.

"Like I wish people would stop asking me that" you sighed.

"Sorry, I just...this is weird" he frowned.

"Because you won't look at me now?" you challenged "do you regret doing it or something?"

"You think that's what this is about" he turned to face you "I don't regret my choice, I'm just worried that you will hate me for it".

You frowned "you saved my life Geralt, why would I?"

"Because I made you like me" he sighed "your life will never be normal again".

"Nothing's changed" you assured him "I was with you guys already, normal wasn't what my life was".

Some of the tension seemed to ease out of his shoulders and he turned to look at you once more.

"By the way" you leant a little closer to him and sniffed his shoulder "do we smell people? I'm pretty sure I can smell you and Jaskier".

He playfully nudged you away from him before answering "everyone has their own scent, doesn't mean you can go round sniffing them" he laughed.

"But you smell so nice" you grinned as you leant over and smelled him once more.

"Stop" he smiled at you and shook his head.

"Tell me then Geralt" you smirked "what are the perks of being a Witcher?"

He shook his head at you but the smile remained on his face.


	6. New Development

Travelling through small towns looking for contracts filled the next couple of days.

When you weren't travelling, Geralt would teach you new little tricks, as well as helping you improve your swordsmanship.

Jaskier took a temporary interest before deciding that he was 'a lover not a fighter'.

You however found it all exciting.

Having never really been a stereotypical lady, preferring to hunt and be out in the wilderness, it was a fun new challenge.

You'd spent the past hour or so training and unlike before you still felt as though you had plenty of energy.

It was another matter entirely though trying to take down Geralt.

Whilst you may be more physically matched now, he had decades of experience over you.

With your sword pinned to your side and your back against a rock you growled in annoyance.

Geralt's smirking in response only irked you more.

As soon as he released you, you sprung your next attack, trying to take the element of surprise.

He was quick to counter though and you were once more surrounded by the clashing of swords.

Thinking fast you feigned a faltering in your step which Geralt was quick to move on.

Only he'd fallen right into your trap and you wasted no time in hooking your leg behind his knee and pulling.

He fell backwards but not before pulling you with him.

That wasn't something you'd predicted and as you fell your sword caught the side of his cheek.

"Shit, sorry" you apologised as you had him pinned beneath you "but I'm pretty sure I win that one" you grinned.

What you didn't expect was a frown to cross his face as he looked up at you.

Perhaps he was pissed that you'd cut him?

He reached a hand up and brushed it over your cheek though, making you frown.

When he pulled his hand away though you noticed that there was blood there.

Touching your cheek yourself now, you found that it was cut.

"Oh gods, am I interrupting something?" Jaskiers voice came from your left.

Only then did you realise that you were still sat above Geralt, which probably looked quite suspicious to the bard.

Standing up you held your hand out to help pull Geralt up too.

"This isn't good" Geralt ignored the bard as he looked at your bleeding cheek.

"Does this mean" you processed it in your head "if one of us gets injured, we both do?"

"What's this new development" Jaskier strolled over to you both.

"Test the theory?" you offered as you made a small cut across your palm.

Sure enough, when Geralt held up his palm there was now a small cut there too.

"Well that should be interesting" Jaskier looked at you both.

"What's the worst that could happen right?" you tried to lighten the mood but were met by an unamused look from Geralt.

\--

That afternoon, you all made your way into a small town to stock up on food and supplies.

As soon as you entered the village though, you felt the stares of the villagers upon you.

It wasn't that unusual really, Geralt drew a fair bit of attention, only now they were looking at you as well.

That was going to take some getting used to.

Ignoring them, you made your way over to a local merchants stall.

"We don't serve you type round 'ere" the man sneered at you and Geralt.

"You don't want our coin?" Geralt rose a challenging eyebrow.

"Tainted coin that" he spat back.

Rolling your eyes at him you moved to walk away but Geralt was stood fast.

"Why don't we all calm down" Jaskier tried to deescalate the situation.

Glancing behind you, you noticed a crowd of other angry looking villagers heading your way.

"It's not worth it Geralt" you placed a hand on his arm and tried to pull him away.

"Listen to your mutant bitch" the man leered.

Before you could stop him, Geralt had squared the guy right in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.

"Geralt!" you grabbed him as he tried to advance on the man once more "come on, let's just go".

He met your eyes before letting out a huff of annoyance and walking towards the exit of the village.

"What was that?" Jaskier asked as he watched your friend walk off.

"Not the time to worry about it" you replied as you nodded to the mob that was gathering.

"Right" Jaskier nodded before quickly following after Geralt, you not far behind.


	7. People Are Dicks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You talk to Geralt about what happened

Geralt had been silent for the rest of the afternoon as you traveled to the next town over.

Upon reaching it, the three of you were able to find supplies and lodging for the night.

Geralt headed straight for one of the rooms you'd rented whilst you and Jaskier stayed for a drink in the tavern.

"Your hair looks lighter" he commented as he looked at you.

"What?" you held up your hair to look at it, maybe it was slightly lighter "it's probably just from being in the sun" you reasoned.

"Are we gonna discuss earlier?" Jaskier asked as he sat opposite you.

Taking a deep gulp of your ale you shrugged "that guy was pretty rude".

"People have said worse before" he pointed out "but Geralt's never reacted like that".

"I don't know Jask" you sighed "maybe he's just had a long day".

"Or maybe it's because it wasn't just him being insulted" he suggested.

You frowned "I don't care what other people think about me, Geralt knows that" you reasoned.

"Well, I'm just calling it how I see it" he spoke as his eyes drifted to a busty blonde across the room.

Before you'd even finished your drink, Jaskier deserted you to chase after the woman at the bar.

You waited a while longer before deciding to call it a night.

But as you made your way to your room you could hear somebody in there.

Stopping at the door you could smell Jaskiers scent before a woman's moan reached your ears.

Cringing slightly you turned to the door behind you and knocked before popping your head in.

Geralt was lay on the bed just staring up at the ceiling before turning to look at you.

"You mind if I crash here with you tonight?" you ventured into the room "Jaskier's taken my room for uh... some company".

"Hm, sure" was all the response you got.

Entering the room and closing the door behind you, you strolled over to the fireplace and knelt in front of it to warm your hands.

"Are we gonna talk about earlier?" you ventured.

"Nothing to talk about" he replied "he was a prick".

"We come across a lot of those Geralt, you don't usually do that".

When he didn't reply, you stood and turned to face him "Geralt".

He sighed before sitting up against the headboard "I didn't like him insulting you".

You laughed slightly "I don't care what people say about me Geralt, you know that".

"Yeah well" he shrugged.

Moving around the bed you sat on the other side "you can't punch every idiot that's rude to me".

"Why not?" he turned to you with a smirk.

A laugh left your lips before you playfully pushed him "you know, I'm starting to think your less of a white wolf and more of a teddy bear".

"How dare you" he mocked offense before nudging you back.

A particularly loud moan came from across the corridor and you cringed in response "bloody Witcher hearing".

"You learn to block it out" Geralt answered as he swung his legs off the side of the bed and stood up "you can take the bed".

Rolling your eyes at him you pulled up your feet to take off your boots "there's plenty of room for both of us".

He turned back to you with raised eyebrows and a smirk.

"Not like that" you rolled your eyes once more as you threw your boot at him to hide the fact that you were certainly blushing.

"Ok, but you better not snore too loudly" he joked as he pulled off his own boots and shirt.

Making an effort to not stare you turned away from him to remove your trousers, leaving you in your underwear and undershirt "I do not snore".

"Sure you don't" he replied as you felt the bed dip behind you.

You pulled back the covers before laying down next to him.

It felt strange but at the same time comfortable.

You really shouldn't worry about what people say about me you know" you looked over to him "I really don't care".

He turned to meet your gaze "it doesn't bother you at all?"

"No" you assured him "people are dicks, I knew that already from how they treated you".

"You've never treated me different" he observed.

With a shrug you replied "I don't judge people before I get to know them" you smiled "and believe it or not Geralt, you're actually quite pleasant company".

More noise came from across the hall and you groaned "ugh, make it stop".

"Just try to get to sleep" Geralt smiled before laying back in the bed.

Despite the noise disturbance you soon found yourself drifting off to sleep.


	8. Does It Look Bad

Upon waking the next morning, you felt movement under your cheek and arm.

It only took you a moment to realise it was Geralt.

Embarrassed, you moved to get up only to realise that his arm was around your back.

The movement woke him and you paused, unsure what to do "sorry, I uh..."

"Go back to sleep" he mumbled "it's still early".

That certainly wasn't what you'd been expecting him to say.

You waited a moment before lowering your head back to his chest and relaxing back into his side.

There was no denying that you did feel extremely comfortable and it didn't take too long for you to drift back to sleep.

\---

The next time you woke up was a lot less peaceful. 

Jaskier entered the room loudly before commenting on the sight before him "well don't you two look cosy".

"Fuck off bard" Geralt groaned as you moved away from his side and rubbed the sleep from your eyes.

"What happened to your hair!" was Jaskier's response.

You frowned before turning to look at him.

Seeing your confused expression he strolled over to you and grabbed a strand of your hair, holding it in front of your face.

It was white!

You were suddenly wide awake "well that..."

"Quite suits you actually" Jaskier grinned at you "anyway" he jumped onto your side of the bed forcing you to move back closer to Geralt "will you be joining me for breakfast?"

"Your not dining with your friend from last night" you asked.

"No, she had a husband to get back to" he answered.

You and Geralt both scoffed at him.

"Don't judge me" he stood up before heading to the door "I'll meet you downstairs" and with that he was gone.

"He'll get himself killed one of these days" you observed as you lay back with a sigh.

When Geralt didn't respond you turned to look at him.

He was staring at your hair strangely.

"Does it look bad?" you asked.

That seemed to snap him out of his daze "no, just gonna take some getting used to".

"I'm just not sure anything could shock me anymore" you laughed lightly.

Geralt looked at you a moment longer before turning and getting out of bed "if we don't get down there soon, he'll only come back".

\---

Whilst you'd eaten breakfast, one of the locals had approached Geralt with a job.

He'd accepted and told you and Jaskier that he'd be back by nightfall.

"I could help?" you offered as you walked with him over to Roach.

"No" he was quick to answer.

"I've helped before though" you argued.

He sighed and turned to face you "just stay here".

By the look on his face you could tell that there was no room for argument so you gave in "be safe" you told him before watching him leave.

The rest of your day seemed to drag on forever.

It wasn't as though you could get any training in, since Jaskier made for a pretty poor sparring partner.

You both spent most of the day sat by a small lake that you'd stumbled upon.

Jaskier was rambling on about all sorts of things, from the girl last night to what he wanted to have for dinner.

As the sky grew darker he told you he was going to bathe and you held in your sigh of relief at the bit of peace you would get.

About 5 minutes later though you heard him yell and rushed over to the sound.

There were 6 armed men stood around him and another man who dressed differently, grabbing Jaskier by the collar.

As they noticed you, the man grinned malevolently "you're not the Witcher I was expecting".

Squinting at him you replied "what do you want?"

He didn't answer you, simply signaled something to his men and just like that they were charging at you.

Without hesitation you'd grabbed your sword and managed to defend yourself for a while, even taking out 2 of the men.

Using all of the training you'd done recently with Geralt you fought back.

But still they managed to overwhelm you and the last thing you remembered was something hitting you hard across the back of your head.

\---

He'd woken on the path he'd been taking back into town and panic flooded his chest.

Something must've happened to you.

Not even bothering to collect his coin from the villagers, he sought out Jaskier.

"Geralt, thank the gods you're back" Jaskier rushed over to him in a panic "they took Y/n".

"Who did?" Geralt growled out.

"I don't know, they found us near the lake" he spoke fast "she managed to kill 2 of them, the bodies are still there".

"Show me" Geralt demanded.


	9. I'm Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geralt's temper leads him to say things he doesn't mean

You'd woken up with chains around your wrists in an unfamiliar room.

Rubbing the back of your head you looked around for any clue as to where you were.

"Ah, finally awake" your eyes landed on the man who'd grabbed Jaskier before.

"Who the fuck are you?" you glared at him.

"Doesn't matter" he came closer to you "my turn, since when are there female Witchers?"

"Doesn't matter" you threw his own reply back at him.

Seconds later his fist came into contact with your face, knocking your head to the side.

Blinking to clear your vision, you felt blood trickling from your lip.

"I strongly advise against playing games with me" he warned you.

\---

Geralt studied the bodies and found only one clue.

The symbol that was etched into their chest plates.

He would recognise it anywhere.

Stregobor.

As the realisation dawned on him, he felt something trickling down his chin.

Wiping his hand over it, he spotted blood.

"We need to find her fast".

\---

Even if you'd wanted to cooperate with your captor you couldn't have.

He was asking you about things that you genuinely had no idea about.

A particular interest placed on Kaer Morhen and some guy called Vessemir.

"I told you already, I don't know what you're talking about" you growled out after receiving a punch to the gut.

"I'm growing tired of this" the man was visibly irate now "give me the information I need and your death shall be quick".

A bitter laugh escaped your lips "are you naturally stupid or does it just take a while for things to sink in? I told you I don't know!"

This earned you another punch to the face.

You remembered that the pain would be affecting Geralt and tried to refrain from pissing him off further.

"Tell you what" he breather deeply "I'll give you some time to think before we continue".

Not answering him you simply watched him leave the room before lowering your head with a sigh.

Geralt shouldn't have bonded himself to you.

You were going to get him killed.

This guilt tore away at you for the next hour or so until you were distracted by the sound of a fight outside the door.

\---

He'd never tracked someone down so quick, even with the injuries that continued to litter his body.

It was like the anger he felt allowed him to ignore them completely.

Sterobors men never stood a chance.

The mage himself saw this and wasted no time in making his escape.

Not wasting any more time on him, Geralt quickly followed your scent to the room you were being kept in.

Practically pulling the door from it's hinges he rushed over to you.

"Geralt" you looked up at him with visible relief "I'm sorry I was-"

"Don't. Let's just get you out of here" he cut you off.

Panic settled in your chest as you thought he must be mad at you for getting caught.

As soon as he'd managed to free your wrists he was pulling you to your feet and out of the building.

Riding behind him on Roach you could feel how tense he was.

You must've really pissed him off.

"Y/n! Thank the gods you're alright" Jaskier rushed over to you as soon as you arrived back at the village.

"No thanks to you" Geralt dismounted Roach and marched over to Jaskier.

"Geralt, it's not his fault" you rushed over to them.

"No you're right" he spun to face you "it's yours! Why did you try and fight them instead of running?"

The anger on his face washed over you, making you feel small "they had Jaskier, I couldn't just leave him".

"So what, you just thought you'd get us both killed!" he yelled.

You watched him with wide eyes, unsure how to respond.

"I should've never fucking bonded you to me" he turned his back to you and shook his head.

Your heart sunk at his words and you felt tears threatening to spill over your eyes.

He regretted saving you.

You couldn't really blame him you guessed.

"Geralt I..." you mumbled before realising you had nothing to say.

"I'm sorry" you looked to the ground to hide your watery eyes.

All that you got in response was a scoff before he was walking away from you.

Risking a quick look at Jaskier you could tell that he was shocked by what had happened.

You forced a quick smile for him before turning and walking away.

"Where are you going?" Jaskier followed you.

"I just need to be alone for a while" you told him.

He stood and watched you leave, unsure what to do, with a feeling that he wouldn't see you the next morning.


	10. Faster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Geralt's outburst you leave and try to make sure you won't get him killed

Geralt woke the next morning with a sigh.

He knew he had been unreasonable with you, lashing out so that he didn't have to admit how scared he was of losing you.

Getting up and looking around the small room he saw no sign of you or Jaskier.

Heading down to tend to Roach he assumed you'd spent the night in the other room.

"She didn't come back you know" Jaskier's voice reached him as he entered the stables.

"What are you talking about?" Geralt asked him.

"She's gone Geralt!" the bard yelled.

Frowning at his words Geralt turned to look at him "what? why?"

"I don't know, maybe because you were awful to her" Jaskier was clearly angry "or that you basically told her you regret saving her life".

Turning away from the bard he thought about his harsh words and sighed "fuck".

\---

It had been a while since you'd been on your own and it took some getting used to.

You weren't going to let it stop you from doing this though.

It took a few days to gain the information you needed from people you passed on your travels.

After that it took almost another 2 weeks to actually get there.

Riding up to the gates on a horse that you may have not so honestly taken.

"Stop there" a voice came from the wall above the gate "only Witchers may enter here".

"Well I guess I'm in luck" you sighed before pulling your hood down and looking up at the man.

He was visibly confused by you before disappearing from view.

Moments later the gates were open and you entered Kaer Morhen for the first time.

"Who are you?" the man from before strolled over to you.

"My name's Y/n" you replied as you dismounted your horse "I'm looking for a man named Vessemir".

"You've found him" a different man walked over to you "now what?"

"I...I need your help" you answered.

He frowned and turned to look at the other man who looked just as confused.

"It's a long story but I became a Witcher after one bound my life to his" you explained "only now I'm worried I will get him killed because I can't defend myself".

"So you want what? Protection?" Vessemir asked.

"No" you sighed "I was hoping you could train me".

"The Witcher who bound you won't do this?" 

"I'm quite certain he regrets doing any of this" you told him honestly.

"Who was he?" the other man spoke up once more.

"Geralt of Rivia" you replied.

"Of course it was" Vessemir rolled his eyes and shook his head.

\---

In the following months you trained restlessly, knowing that if you were going to keep yourself and Geralt alive you had to improve.

Vessemir was a good mentor, but that was why you'd come after all.

What better place to train than here.

You were in the courtyard sparring with Eskel when he stopped and looked at somebody over your shoulder.

Turning to follow his gaze you felt your heart stop.

Geralt.

You remained stood where you were as Eskel went over to greet his friend.

Geralt greeted him in a friendly manner but his attention remained mostly on you.

"I'll leave you two to talk" Eskel sent you a nod before doing just that.

"You proved quite hard to track down" Geralt strolled over to you.

"I wouldn't have thought you'd bother" you responded as you turned away from him.

You heard Geralt's sigh before you sensed him reaching for your arm.

Without really thinking about it you spun back around and grabbed his arm before he could touch you.

He was visibly surprised before a small smile graced his lips "you've grown faster".

Looking at him carefully you were confused by the smile.

Letting go of his arm you moved to take a step back before he was moving once more.

Stepping away from him you took a defensive stance "what are you doing?"

He actually grinned before replying "seeing if Vessemir is still a good teacher".

Before you could fully understand what was happening you were engaged in a sparring match with him.

Both of your movements were so smooth and precise that it almost looked like dancing.

You fought for a while before you smirked and cast an Aard sign in Geralt's direction.

Hearing laughter from behind you, you turned to see Vessemir and Eskel had been watching you.

"Are you growing slow as you age Geralt?" Vessemir taunted as Geralt pulled himself back to his feet.

"I didn't realise we were playing dirty" he squinted slightly as he walked back over to you.

"I saw no rules broken" Eskel laughed.

"You wouldn't have" he responded before turning his full attention to you "I'm sorry for what I said".

That wasn't something you'd been expecting "sorry that you said it, or sorry that you meant it?" you crossed your arms.

He sighed "you're so difficult".

You opened your mouth to respond but never got the chance before Geralt closed the distance between you and kissed you.

After a moment of shock you kissed him back.

When he pulled back he was smiling "I don't regret saving you Y/n, I'd do it a thousand times over".

"I..." you were a little lost for words.

"Does this mean you'll be taking over her training?" Vessemir was looking at you both with a grin.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always appreciated! Love to hear what you guys think.  
> 


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